Invesdor First in Europe to Receive an EU Licence to Boost Cross-Border Crowdfunding in SME Sector

HELSINKI, Finland, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Invesdor, a fast growing Nordic finance technology company has been granted a MiFID licence by financial authorities, to expand debt and equity crowdfunding services across all 31 EU and EEA countries.

Invesdor is now the first crowdfunding platform to receive this level of operational licence, part of the European Commission's drive to harmonise financial regulations across Europe.

"Making the fundraising process fair, transparent and standardised for all participants is very important for us," says Invesdor co-founder and CEO Lasse Mäkelä. "We give growth companies an alternative way of fundraising, and now we can scale our business across Europe," he adds.

Global crowdfunding almost tripled last year, becoming a $16 billion dollar industry, and the new licence means that Invesdor will be able to operate freely in Europe, without having to start from scratch in each country, and apply for a new operating licence every time. As Invesdor expands into new countries, startups across Europe can apply for funding on the platform.

Even before receiving the new pan-European operating licence, Invesdor had established itself as one of the Nordic region's most innovative, secure and transparent equity crowdfunding platforms, holding a 46% market share in the Nordic region, based on a recent report by the University of Cambridge and E&Y. Invesdor intends to become the dominant cross-border funding platform for new ventures in Europe.

"Through Invesdor, people become part of great stories and diversify their investment portfolios," explains Tero Weckroth, Chairman of the Board. "We're not only helping tech and software startups achieve their full potential in a wider market, but other companies in the sports, medical, musical, and hospitality and catering industries are also current clients," he says.

Over 30 crowdfunding projects have already raised 4.4 million euros of equity-based funding on the Invesdor platform. The largest round received more than 780 investors and the most international round received investments from 27 different countries around the world.  

To build its crowdfunding platform, Invesdor itself has raised more than €800,000 through crowdfunding rounds and public grants. The company will open its new equity crowdfunding round to the public on May 5 at 10AM GMT to boost the platform's international growth, allowing anyone to be part of its growth story.

More information at http://www.invesdor.com

Lasse Mäkelä, CEO
lasse.makela (at) invesdor.com
+358-40-7533-844
Media kit / www.invesdor.com